CHAPTER 1
“Up, and plié!” Ms. Rousseau called. Her voice echoed across the large, sunny ballet studio. “Hold please, and then down and finish in second!”
Standing at the barre, Sarah O’Claire rested one hand lightly on the smooth wood. She held her other arm gracefully out to the side. Keeping her heels together, she sank down into her plié. Around her, the rest of the ballerinas pliéd as well.
“Excellent, ladies. Now let’s see an arabesque, please,” Ms. Rousseau called.
Sarah took her arm off the bar and leaned forward, lifting her right leg behind her into an arabesque. She made sure to keep her toe pointed and her knee straight.
Sarah cast a quick glance around the room. No one else’s leg was as straight or as high as hers. And several of the dancers had limp arms. Ms. Rousseau hated that. Sarah smiled to herself and lifted her leg just another inch higher.
“And down! Relax!” the ballet teacher commanded.
The other students dropped their poses with relief, but Sarah made sure she held her arabesque just a few seconds longer. That way everyone could see it.
“Very nice, Sarah!” Ms. Rousseau complimented her.
Across the room, Sarah saw one of the other dancers watching her and rolling her eyes. Sarah tossed her head and looked away. She knew some of the other girls thought she was a show-off.
Well, fine, Sarah thought. They can think whatever they want. It doesn’t change the fact that my arabesque was the best in the class.
Ms. Rousseau turned off the music and motioned to the dancers. “Girls, gather round please,” she called.
When everyone was sitting around her on the floor, Ms. Rousseau pulled out a clipboard. “As many of you know, our annual recital is coming up. We’ll be holding tryouts next week,” she said.
All the dancers started chattering excitedly. The annual recital was the biggest event at the ballet studio. Their parents came, of course, but so did people from the community and dancers from other schools.
“The theme for this year’s recital is fairies in nature,” Ms. Rousseau announced. “There will be four lead fairies, one for each season, and several supporting fairies.”
Sarah sat up straight and smiled. She knew she’d be cast as one of the leads. There was no doubt about it. And everyone else knew it too.
“The recital will end with all of the fairies in a circle around the Spring Fairy as she dances,” Ms. Rousseau said. “That means whoever plays the Spring Fairy will dance a solo.”
Sarah tried not to look too eager. But it was clear that the part of the Spring Fairy was meant for her.
“For the auditions, each dancer must dance a three-minute routine,” Ms. Rousseau said. “It must include a jeté, an arabesque, which we practiced today, and a pirouette. These are hard steps, especially the pirouette, so you’ll all need to practice on your own too.”
As soon as Ms. Rousseau finished, the dancers rose to their feet and gathered their bags from the corner of the room.
Sarah slung her own bag over her shoulder. She wasn’t worried about the moves Ms. Rousseau had mentioned. She’d already been working on the jeté for months. It’d be easy for her.
On the way out the door, Sarah bumped into Mandy and Alex, two of the other dancers in their class.
“Oops, sorry,” Mandy said, smiling at Sarah.
Sarah smiled a little. Maybe I should be a little friendlier in class, she thought. I don’t really talk to anyone.
“Hey, are you guys going to the Spirit Shop for ice cream?” Sarah asked. The dancers often stopped by the Spirit Shop after practice. “We can walk over together.”
Mandy and Alex exchanged a quick glance. “Um, actually, we’re heading over to Alex’s house,” Mandy said quickly. “Sorry.”
With that, the two girls turned and rushed off down the sidewalk.
Sarah hitched up her dance bag and trudged down the street in the opposite direction.
Whatever, she thought. Who cares if they don’t want to hang out with me. I have to go practice my pirouettes anyway.